Blog Posts

It’s Your Business—Run It! Catherine Cook

Jun 27, 2012

In 2005, Catherine Cook and her brother, Dan, both in high school and on spring break, had the idea to create an online yearbook. Thinking it could be a great way to meet new people, the siblings launched MyYearbook.com.

Six years later, their company went from a family-operated business in Skillman, New Jersey, to a social network with more than 40 million members. The website, now called Meet Me, merged with Quepasa.com to become the third-largest social network in the United States. The team grew from a staff of 19 in its first year to the more than 100-person team that makes up Meet Me today.

As she watched her business, staff, and traffic rapidly grow, Catherine relied on the most important part of her business, her team. “You want a group of supportive people around you that know what they’re doing,” Catherine says. “Without your team your company is nothing.”

Besides a solid crew at their headquarters in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Catherine emphasizes the need to recognize your limits and ask for help when you need it. “You shouldn’t just assume you already know everything because, really, you have no idea,” she says. “A huge part of creating a successful company is being able to know what you don’t know and then figuring it out along the way.”